It is well known that in automobiles, the passenger side sunvisor is provided as original equipment with a mirror, generally known as a vanity mirror said sunvisor is of modular construction, said vanity mirror usually basically comprises an essentially prismatic casing and a cover which may be opened and closed at will by the user.
The mirror casing is dimensioned to contain the mirror surface as such and the means and/or devices intended for increasing the functionality of the mirror, such as may be, among other regularly used ones, means for illuminating the immediate surroundings of said mirror. The purpose of the cover is to conceal the mirror surface housed in the casing to conserve its reflective properties by preventing deterioration thereof by action of the environment.
Where the cover is attached to the prismatic casing of the mirror in such a way that said cover may be pivoted, the mirror requires means and/or devices holding the cover in the positions in which the mirror surface is concealed and/or open to view.
Sunvisor vanity mirrors having a hingedly attached cover are disclosed in Spanish utility models nos. 276,352 for "Parasol perfeccionado para vehiculos automoviles" and 276,353 for "Parasol mejorado para vehiculos automoviles". Both said utility models are differentiated by the respective means used for holding the cover in the concealment position. Utility model 276,352 bases the holding of the cover in the concealment position on the action of a mechanical pressure closing means, while utility model 276,353 bases said holding on a magnetic closing means.
In general, the known vanity mirrors having a hingeable cover suffer, among others, from the following drawbacks: the means holding the cover in the concealment and/or open to view positions of the mirror surface comprise a high number of expensive to make and assemble components, which consequently makes the end product more expensive; the said holding means are of limited reliability as far as retaining the cover in the said positions is concerned, being a frequent cause of untimely detachment of the cover; and the manual operation of the said means also relatively frequently involves a deformation and/or breakage of the mirror components.